Elis Kick Off Season Against Texas A&M

The Course at Yale. (photo by DSPics.com)

Sep 07, 2013

Strong Line-up Poised For Season Ahead

NEW HAVEN, Conn.—With one of its strongest and deepest rosters in years, the Yale men's golf team will look to build momentum as it begins competition with a match against Texas A&M on Sept. 7. The two teams will face off at The Bridge in Southampton, N.Y.

The Bulldogs are in fine form coming into the 2013-14 season, after a summer of practice and the addition of four talented freshmen. The team will be led by senior captain Sam Bernstein, last year's Ivy League Player of the Year and a three-time All-Ivy honor recipient. Bernstein will be joined by two other seniors, Sean Gaudette and Michael Lewis-Goldman, who will add invaluable experience to the team.

The Elis' upperclassmen contingent also includes several juniors, who will build on their past two years' experience as they push themselves this season. Junior William Davenport was tied for second place at last year's Macdonald Cup and will look to post similar successes this year. Fellow juniors Thomas Greenhalgh and John McNiff will also be eager to notch up strong performances throughout the season.

The Bulldogs' only sophomore, Joe Willis finished second at the Adams Cup and tied for third at the Century Intercollegiate in his first season at Yale and will be on the hunt for strong results this year.

Adding to the Elis are four freshmen from around the globe, each with top golfing results and a wealth of competition experience prior to college. Jonathan Lai hails from Hong Kong; Nick McNiff, brother of John McNiff, comes from Plymouth, Pa.; James Park arrives at Yale from Seoul, South Korea; and Li Wang joins the team from Sammamish, Wash.

The team will face Texas A&M in the season opener, a tough match-up that will test the Elis. Texas A&M was ranked 21st in the most recent Golfweek Collegiate Team rankings, while the Bulldogs sat at 138th. The Aggies enter the season on the nation's longest streak of six straight top-15 finishes at the NCAA Championship.

Saturday's match against Texas A&M will be followed by The McLaughlin on Sept. 14-15 at Bethpage Red in Farmingdale, N.Y. The Bulldogs will then head to South Bend, Ind., for the Sept. 23-24 Notre Dame Invitational at the Warren Golf Course. They will then return home to the Yale Golf Course for The Macdonald Cup on Oct. 5-6 and the internal F.A. Borsodi Student Championship on Oct. 12-13.

Fall competition will wrap up with the Oct. 19-20 Ivy League Matchplay at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, N.J.